


The Storm in my Head

by lunarella



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst, Astraphobia, But only implied, Crying, Established Relationship, Fluff and Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Implied Sexual Content, Keith and Shiro are Adoptive Siblings, Keith tries to be tough and deal with it alone but you can't hide from the people who love you, Lance also cares about Shiro's little brother, M/M, Orphan Keith, Shiro cares about his little brother a lot, Storms, also, emotionally repressed keith, forgot to mention this but, ish, so i just heavily imply that it happened, so they're like 23, sorry i can't write porn, sort of, they're in college
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-27
Updated: 2017-04-27
Packaged: 2018-10-24 14:09:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,354
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10743279
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lunarella/pseuds/lunarella
Summary: As a child, storms had always frightened Keith. Logically, he knew that there was nothing to be afraid of, especially when they were safe inside their home, warm and dry. His mom would always remind him that there was only a slim, one in a million chance that he'd ever get struck by lightning.Really, who knows? Maybe, after a while, he would have overcome that fear like he did with the dark, shots and the dentist. But after his parents died, the clouds in the sky always looked a little darker than they actually were.---Keith is afraid of storms. Shiro loves his little brother. Lance also loves Shiro's little brother, who isn't actually little, but is an adult in college and also Lance's boyfriend.Lance is more than happy to help his boyfriend get through the night.excuse the title





	The Storm in my Head

**Author's Note:**

> This is pretty self-indulgent, ngl. I hope my summary and tags are sufficient.  
> Not beta-read, but I did read over it myself. I think I caught all the errors, but if not, feel free to tell me!  
>  ~~I don't know why I love doing this to Keith pls don't ask,,~~  
> 

Doing the dishes is easily Keith’s least favorite house chore. He hates the way his fingers prune up, how his arms will itch in places where soap and water dry and he especially hates when he accidentally makes contact with any stray piece of food that managed to dodge the garbage disposal.

Yet, here is, elbow deep as he rinsed and washed, grimace on his face. It’s technically Lance’s turn to do them, but he can be quite the escape artist when it comes to avoiding chores he doesn’t like. This particular time he bribed Keith with food, telling him he’d cook up a soup Keith had tried once when visiting Lance’s family for Thanksgiving. It was the only time Keith had eaten it and he’s been craving it ever since.

Really, Keith can’t complain as he scrubs dried food off a plate, looking over at his boyfriend who stands before the stove, engrossed in his task as he stirs the mixture in the pot. He occasionally pulls out his phone to text his mom questions to make sure he’s making it right. It definitely smells right. Keith is suddenly painfully aware of the fact that he hasn’t eaten anything other than a banana for breakfast.

“Is it almost done?” Keith asks, trying not to sound like a whiney little kid, but good meals are his weakness. Government issued food from the foster homes and orphanages he stayed in as a kid weren’t exactly quality and Keith can't cook to save it life. So, whenever anyone actually makes something  _good_ , Keith can’t help but get a little excited and although nobody's cooking will ever rival Hunk's, his boyfriend is a close second. Years of helping his mom cook meals for their family of six contributed to that, no doubt. 

“Are  _you_  almost done?” comes Lance teasing response, playful grin in place. Keith rolls his eyes and uses all of his willpower to not flick water in Lance’s direction-- for the soup’s sake, of course.

“ _Yes._ I am,” Keith answers, picking up the last dish in the sink to scrub at it pointedly. Lance quirks a brow over at him before a sly grin takes to his lips.

“No you aren’t,” he says, swiping a few dishes from the counter before skipping over to where Keith is to slip some more dishes he’d used for mixing and cutting into the sink. Keith shoots him a glare.

“Ouch- if looks could kill,” Lance teases, hissing in fake pain, clutching at his chest before he regains his stance before the stove.

“If only,” Keith mutters. Before Keith can even think about being grumpy for too long, Lance is approaching him again, this time with a spoonful of broth, one hand carefully hovering under Keith’s chin catch any excess.

“Tell me how it tastes?” Lance requests, pressing the spoon to Keith’s lips. Keith complies and has to physically stop himself from sighing and rolling his eyes in bliss at how good the flavor is. It’s delicious, but Keith doesn’t tell him that.

“Your mom’s is better,” he says instead, smirking cruelly up at his boyfriend, who dramatically grasps the fabric over his chest.

“I made this with  _love!_ Just for you! How ungrateful!” Lance complains jokingly. Keith can’t fully bite back a smile.

By the time he’s done with the dishes, Lance is already scooping the soup up into bowls for both of them. Keith is drying off the remaining tableware, placing them in their respective cabinets when he hears it, tensing almost immediately. Lance whistles, leaning over the counter to peer out through the apartment window above the kitchen sink at the distant sky-- though not distant enough for Keith’s comfort.

The clouds are an ominous dark shade, twisting and churning in the sky, encroaching far too fast. Keith watches as they slowly devour the dull blue remnants of the evening sky. Each occasional flicker inside the mass of clouds is partnered with the low grumbling threat of thunder. The storm hasn’t gotten to them just yet. Keith hopes that maybe it will die down. If not, he at least hopes he’ll be able to mentally prepare himself for it.

 _It’s just a storm,_  he reminds himself.

If Keith looks distressed, Lance apparently doesn’t notice, eyes fixed on the approaching clouds before he turns back to their food.

“Looks like a perfect evening for warm soup indoors, cuddled up by the T.V. to watch reruns of classic space-oriented movies,” he says, miraculously in one one breath. Lance looks to Keith for a response, smiling gracefully, but Keith only stares out the window and looks--  _off._ Lance furrows his brows. “Everything alright?” he asks, taking a step toward the other to place a hand on his waist. Keith jerks under the contact, turning to look at Lance surprised, as if he just noticed him there.

“What? Yeah. Yeah, everything’s fine. That sounds great,” Keith agrees far too quickly. Lance’s brows draw closer together by a hair.

“Alright. If you say so… You looked a little pale for a second there. I mean, more pale than  _usual_  anyway,” Lance added the last bit for humor’s sake, hoping to bring a smile back to Keith’s lips. It sort of works when he receives Keith’s why-do-I-love-you eye-roll. Normal enough Keith behavior.

“Not all of us are blessed with the ability to tan, Lance. Some of us just burn,” Keith says as turns from the window. Lance smiles fondly as he recalls a memory from the beach. The crew (Shiro, Allura, Hunk, and Pidge) had decided to go on a beach trip with them. Lance particularly remembers Keith stubbornly hiding under their beach umbrella from the sun, furiously caking sunscreen onto his body. His favorite part was when they got home and Keith started cursing violently at the bathroom mirror when he saw the splotches of red on his cheeks, nose, and shoulders.

“So… reruns of Star Trek then?” Lance hears, ripping him from he fond memory as he looks up to find Keith raising a brow at him.. Lance worries his bottom lip for a moment before nodding as he too grabs his bowl and they both make for the couch.

“You sure you’re alright?” Lance asks again as they settle onto the sofa, Keith tugging the coffee table closer to them by wrapping a foot around one of the legs. Keith nods.Lance is unconvinced, but knows that Keith will go to him eventually, if it’s bad.

So, he puts it in the back of his mind- just for now. Instead he focuses on having a nice, relaxing night with his boyfriend. He focuses on helping Keith to forget about the negative ghosts from his past with all the sappy love tropes his can squeeze into one night because he loves his boyfriend. He loves Keith.

Lance loves Keith and all his troubles. He knows Keith had a stressful childhood growing up, and he knows that sometimes it catches up to him and brings him down. He’s never been told in great detail because he’d never ask Keith to relive it for him, but he knows the gist. He knows about how Keith’s parents died in a car crash when he was little. He knows about how he was tossed to and from different foster homes and orphanages, some far worse than others- he tried his best to run away a few times. He knows that Shiro’s family adopted him when he was eleven.

Lance imagines Keith, small and alone, in and out of the foster system for years- never growing close to anyone, or having anyone truly care about him and his heart aches. He’s never said it before, but Lance knows it’s why Keith has a hard time opening up to people, so he’s patient. Never pushing; just lightly coaxing him in the right direction, easing him into it. Keith can never hope to portray in words just how much that means to him.

It doesn’t become any easier to drown out the distant rumbles of thunder in the once the movie starts. Keith wills himself to become transfixed in the show, but he can already feel himself becoming on edge. He prays Lance won’t notice.

Lance reaches for the remote and starts up the reruns, leaning back and slightly into Keith with a pillow on his lap to hold his bowl. Keith sits with his legs criss-cross, soup balanced between his thighs. He feels awful for suddenly not having an appetite. He’s been looking forward to this dish all day and it looks and smells incredible. But the hunger from earlier has been replaced with the twisting sensation of dread in his gut. For Lance, he manages to keep taking occasional bites.

The first real sounding of thunder almost has Keith leaping out of his skin. It’s a miracle that he didn’t spill his soup everywhere. He turns to look at Lance, who’s looking back at him with a questioning and concerned look.

“You okay?” He asks, slowly, brows raised. Keith hesitates before nodding.

“Yeah- fine, uh...” Keith draws his brows together before carefully standing, setting his bowl down onto the coffee table. “I have to go text Shiro real quick,” he explains shortly. Lance nods quizzically, but before he can say anything Keith is walking toward their bedroom, arms wrapped tightly around himself. He mindlessly reaches for the remote to pause the show, not that he’d been able to focus on it with Keith acting so odd.

They’ve known each other since middle school, truly became friends in high school, have been dating since their freshmen year of college and they’ve been living together for a few months now. That being said, Lance likes to think that he knows Keith pretty well, especially considering how closed-off the other man can be. He’s seen many different sides of Keith, but this one is new.

Sure, he’s seen Keith distressed before, but this is different from normal Keith-distress. The closest thing Lance can compare it to was when they were at the hospital back in high school, after Shiro had been involved in a bad accident. It reminds him of how Keith had been acting while they waited for updates on Shiro's condition: distracted, fidgety, jumpy- like he was about to break. When Keith actually did break down, it was almost surreal to see him like that. It was the first time Lance had ever witnessed Keith cry and it was  _so much_. It was like every moment Keith ever wanted to cry, but didn’t, was reserved and built up for that single moment because once the tears started falling, they wouldn’t  _stop_. Lance couldn’t  _stand_  it so he held Keith through it. It was the first time they’d done something like that and Lance is pretty sure it’s what made him realize his feelings for Keith. Lance had stayed with Keith the whole time in the waiting room, holding him as he shook and sobbed, waiting for news that his brother was okay.

From reference of time, Lance knows that if this is anything like then, Keith is going to break. But Lance doesn’t know what the source is this time.

So, he does the only thing he can think to do: He contacts the only other person who knows Keith just as well as him, if not better.

After retrieving his phone from his pocket, Lance pulls up Shiro’s contact and types out a message, sending it.

 

_Lance: don’t tell him I messaged you but is keith okay? he’s been  acting strange starting like 30 mins ago_

 

Lance looks over his shoulder to see if Keith is headed back yet, but he isn't. He can see the light from their bedroom through the bottom crack, indicating that Keith must still be in there.

 

_Shiro: He just messaged me asking if I’m home safe. It’s storming  over there already, isn’t it?_

 

Lance furrows his brows, glancing toward one of the windows. There’s a curtain over it, but he can make out the shadows of water droplets projecting onto the curtain.

 

_Lance: is that what’s got him like this? The storm?_

 

Lance nervously bounces his foot against the floor as he awaits a response, worrying his bottom lip.

 

_Shiro: I’m calling you._

 

Lance barely catches a glimpse of the last text before Shiro’s caller I.D. is popping up on his phone. He answers.

“Shiro?” he calls, brows drawn together in both worry and confusion.

“Lance, listen. I’m going to make this short and I’m not going into detail because it isn’t my place,” Shiro begins, using his Dad Voice. Lance doesn’t process standing up, his body moving on autopilot to pace and shift around the couch.

“Alright, I’m listening. What’s going on?” Lance presses, peeking behind him to check and make sure Keith is still in their room.

“First, you need to know that the reason Keith hasn’t said anything isn’t because doesn’t trust you, it’s because he’s too stubborn to admit that it’s a problem and he wants to get over it,” Shiro explains. Lance nods, even though Shiro can’t see him. The older man must take the silence as his queue to continue. “You know how Keith’s parents died, right? Keith told you.”

“Yeah, they died in a car accident,”Lance confirms, shifting on his feet.

“While it was storming.  _Bad,”_ Shiro adds. Lance is silent for a moment, absorbing the information before roughly shaking his head.

“Wait so that’s why he’s- because the storm reminds him of...” Lance stops, craning his neck to look at their shared bedroom where he knows Keith is, his heart resonating dull aches inside his tightening chest.

“Yes and no… it’s a bit more complicated than that. He--” Lance can hear Shiro sighing through the other end. “It’s not my place to tell you the rest.” Lance frowns, but he doesn’t pry. Shiro is right, and Lance is so grateful that Keith trusts him and opens up to him as much as he does.

“Okay,”Lance says quietly, not meaning for it to sound as down as it does. Shiro must notice.

“You know he trusts you Lance. He opens up to you more than I’ve seen him do for anyone. He just- he needs time. He’s never had someone like you before.” Lance smiles solemnly.

“I know. Thanks Shiro,”Lance says. Shiro is replying, probably saying goodbye, but he doesn’t hear it before he’s hanging up, more concerned with getting to Keith.

When Lance walks into their room, Keith jerks his head up toward him, eyes wide from where he’s sitting on the bed, legs tucked under him, hunched over his phone. Lance offers a sheepish grin and waves, but just as he does so there’s another flash against their windows, followed by the low rumble of thunder. Now that Lance knows what the problem is, it isn’t hard to notice the way every muscle in Keith’s body goes tense, nor is it hard to notice the way he tries so hard to hide it. Lance forces himself to bit back a frown.

“Hey, babe. What’s going on?” he asks, subtly. Keith looks down as his phone, gnawing at his bottom lip with his brows pinched together.

“Shiro hasn’t responded yet,” he says shortly, tense, avoiding eye contact.

“Yeah, about that,” Lance begins, clearing his throat. Keith jerks his face toward him, and the flash of horror on his face has Lance quickly raising his hands as if to try and ease whatever panic is racing through Keith. “He’s fine, he’s fine! He just called me-”

“He  _what?!”_ Keith snaps, not necessarily at Lance, but his phone, as if it could somehow reach Shiro. It’s incredible how quickly his face contorts from concerned to straight up murderous. “Fucking  _asshole!_ I was  _worried!_ ” He grumbles. “What did he say?” Keith demands, looking back at Lance, who can't help but fidget under Keith's stern eyes.

“Uh, you know,” Lance draws out nervously, sitting beside Keith on the bed. “He- I messaged him asking if you were alright because you’re acting strange and- _don’t tell me you aren’t because you are-_ and he told me about-”

“Well, he shouldn’t have,”Keith snaps, looking away. Lance tries to ignore the pang of hurt he feels in his chest. “I’m  _fine_. I just wanted to know if he was home,”Keith insists, sounding more like he's trying to convince himself than anyone else. Keith can’t hide the way the next sounding of thunder catches him off-guard, his whole body jolting. When the noise settles, he glares at the window.

“You aren’t fine though,”Lance says, softly as he can, hoping to coax Keith out of the walls he has up. He moves to sit across from Keith on the bed, placing his hands over Keith’s where they’re fisted into the bedsheets, running his thumbs along the other’s tense knuckles and they immediately lax under his touch.

“You don’t have to talk about it, but Shiro told me about how it was storming when the accident happened. That’s it,”Lance reassures, staring down at his tanned hands against Keith’s paler ones. Keith is still stubbornly looking away from him, but Lance knows he’s listening. He feels vulnerable right now, so Lance goes slow. “I know that there probably isn’t much I can do, but you know I-”

Before Lance can finish his sentence, there’s flash. This time, on top of the resounding thunder, the lights go out. When the lights don’t come back on, Lance curses and shuffles around for his phone, patting at his pockets until he’s able to fish it out. When he does, he turns the screen on, using the dim light of it to see.

 _“_ Well, there go the lights,” he mutters, turning back to Keith but the sight before him has his chest constricting and his heart dropping because Keith has a hand clamped over his mouth, his brows pinched together and only the beginning of an onslaught of tears running down his cheeks and over his hands, his shoulders trembling.

“ _Shit!_ Keith, babe- no,” Lance says quickly, inching closer to Keith as he frantically looks around the dark room, breath erratic. Lance manages to slip his hands under Keith’s to cup his cheeks, thumbs brushing away tears that continue to fall relentlessly. Lance presses his forehead to Keith’s trying his best to gain the other’s attention. Keith looks at him, lost and scared and as if he just realized he isn’t alone.

“ _Lance,_ ” he manages to choke out, sounding so afraid and broken and Lance is holding him in an instant, moving closer to wrap his arms around the other man to pull him close, one hand combing through his hair while the other runs soothingly along his back.

Without much thought, Lance manages to shift them into a laying position on the bed, holding Keith close as he presses his face into the crook of his neck.

Lance is whispering mindlessly, soft coos and reassurances. They stay like that for a while; until Keith’s shoulders stop trembling and his voice evens out. Lance curses every crash of thunder outside their window.

“This is so stupid,” he hears Keith grit out, followed by a sharp hiccup.

“You’re scared. It’s not stupid, it’s human,”Lance reassures him, feeling the other man tense in his arms as another strike pierces the rhythmic tapping of the rain against their window. Keith scoffs.

“It’s  _pathetic!_ I’m twenty-three,”Keith reasons as he sniffles against Lance’s shirt.

“And  _I_ still cry every single time I have to get a shot, Keith. It’s okay,”Lance reminds, hoping the playful jab at himself will make Keith feel better. It might be a little bit of an exaggeration but he'd be lying if he said he didn't  _want_  to cry. Last time he had to get a shot was when he was sick and the very moment shots were mentioned the color drained from his face, easily rivaling Keith's pale complexion. The best part is that Lance  _didn't even know_  when the shot was over because Keith had kissed him as a distraction, pulling away with a sly, teasing grin as the nurse gently placed a band-aid over his arm. Add it to the list of Reasons why Lance will Never Underestimate his Boyfriend.

“It’s  _different_ Lance! Because every single time this happens, I remember. I remember being  _alone_ in that house all night waiting for them to come home,” he chokes out as he roughly tugs himself away, pressing his hands against Lance’s shoulders to push back. "I try  _not_ to, but it just  _happens_ and-” another flash. Keith winces. Lance has to resist the urge to tug him close again and wipe at the tears stubbornly streaming down his face. “I-” Keith chokes on his words, grasping onto Lance’s upper arms like a lifeline. Another strike has Keith squeezing Lance’s arms tight enough to bruise. “This is so  _stupid!”_ Keith mutters, to himself more than Lance. Lance raises a hand to rest it on Keith’s cheek.

“It’s  _not- lord-_ Keith, I don’t know every detail, but… you are a  _master_ of hiding and conquering your feelings on your own. So if something actually gets you like this, it’s not stupid. Nothing that  _hurts_ you is because you don’t get to decide when something makes you feel bad. It just  _does._ But trying to ignore it isn't going to make it easier on you.” Lance shifts closer, still giving Keith plenty of space to breathe, but close enough to caress his cheek with a hand, brushing away stray strands of hair. "You are  _easily_  the strongest person I know, Keith- don’t tell my mom that though,” Lance squeezes the last part a bit frantically and he thinks he almost earns a smile from Keith. “ Especially after everything. But you don’t have to be strong  _alone_. And I’m not asking you to talk if it’s too hard, but please let me be here for you. Even if it’s just to cling to me and cry into my shoulder. I  _want_ to be here for you,”Lance tries, thumbing away tear tracks on Keith’s soft cheeks- too soft for someone who rarely ever indulges in Lance’s skin-care regimes.

“I love you and everything about you and I know you know it but I’m going to say it forever, everyday if I have to, but I’m here for you if and when you need me. Just like you’re always here for me. So please, let me,”Lance all but begs, staring passionately into Keith’s eyes and hoping to portray every ounce of love and compassion he has for this man through it.

Keith is silent, looking to Lance with his brows drawn together, eyes glossy and occasionally lit up by the flashes outside. Lance isn’t sure if he’s moving on his own will or if it’s the thunder motivating him, but Keith’s back on him in a second, arms clinging to him. Lance holds him close, burying his nose into dark, wavy hair.

Each strike of lightning has him tensing, but Lance holds him through it, kissing his forehead, running his hands comfortingly along his back, sides, cheeks, hair, arms and anywhere they can reach. He can feel Keith shaking, can still feel the wetness of tears against his neck and collarbone where Keith hides his face.

“Every time this happens, I remember,”Keith says, suddenly, voice wobbly. Lance is surprised, having been content with just being able to hold Keith through this. He doesn’t know what to say, so he says nothing and waits- hopes Keith will continue. Keith pulls away enough for Lance to see his face. “I remember being so scared. I was always scared of storms. I don’t know why, but I was. But my parents were always good at distracting me from them with games and movies. For a little while, they stopped being as terrifying and I thought that maybe I was getting over it,”Keith’s voice catches in his throat at another strike before he continues. Lance runs a hand along his side.

“They were gone when I got home from school. They left a note saying that they’d be back later that evening. But they  _weren’t_  and the storm was  _so bad_ , Lance, it was  _horrible,”_ Keith chokes out, sniffling. Lance finds one of Keith’s hands and squeezes it, hoping that it delivers a comfort. “I waited and waited and I was so scared. Then the  _fucking_  electricity went out,” Keith snarls, wiping vigorously at his cheeks to rid the tears.

“I Kept waiting and waiting for them in dark. I ended up falling asleep on the couch by the door so I could be there when they walked in. I was so relieved when I heard a knock the early the next morning… but it wasn’t them.” Keith swallows, wincing when more thunder sounds off. Lance raises his hand to comb through the other’s dark hair, but remains quiet, waiting for Keith to continue.

“I never told anyone about it until Shiro and his mom adopted me. I didn’t know what to do when I was tossed into foster homes and orphanages. I would try so hard to not freak out whenever storms came around because I usually shared a room and if not, the walls were like paper. Most of the kids in those places are brutal and they’d have teased me relentlessly.” Keith scoffs with a bitter grin. “Guess it makes sense that I turned out like this.” Lance frowns.  _Turned out to be perfect?_ he thinks, but doesn’t voice. 

Lance hates to imagine Keith, little and alone in some crappy government-issued bed, covers drawn up over his head with a hand firmly pressed over his mouth to try and choke back any whimpers with every strike of lightning. 

“I never got over it,”Keith explains, voice wobbly. “I never knew how,”he says, more tears prickling his waterline.

The look on Keith’s face  _physically_ hurts Lance and he’s unsure what to do about it, so he acts on impulse and kisses him.

He kisses his forehead, his nose, cheeks, jawline. He kisses the tear tracks on his cheeks away. He presses chaste, loving, passionate kisses to his lips, whispering to him,

"I know there isn't much I can do to make it better, but you know I’ll always be here to pull you through. If you let me.” Keith is silent for a moment. In the darkness, it’s hard to make out his expression. Then, Keith is moving toward him, his slightly chapped lips meeting Lance’s in a warm kiss, albeit wet with tears.

“I love you,” he gasps against Lance's lips, drawing back before kissing him again. This time, Lance has enough warning to kiss back, a hand coming up to rest against Keith’s jaw as he shifts into a more comfortable position.

Neither of them knows where they’re headed until they’re there, mindlessly going about the process of tangled limbs and short breaths until Lance his hovering over Keith, kissing his neck as short breath’s escape him.

“I guess this is a good distraction?” Lance asks, pressing his forehead to Keith’s as a hand trails up under his shirt. Keith grins up at him breathlessly, twining an arm behind Lance's neck to tangle into soft, brown hair.

“Definitely,”Keith confirms, diving up for another kiss. "So, distract me," he orders against Lance's lips, to which he gladly complies.

 _The best distraction_ , Keith thinks, and it is. Because as their bodies move together, the world outside their window- the flashes and cackles of thunder-are muted under Lance’s breathless pants and whispers against his ear.

The rumble is easily ignored in favor of the sensation of Lance’s hands trailing his bare sides and thighs.

For the first time in a long time, Keith doesn't feel so incredibly vulnerable during a storm. 

By the end of the night, his tears are from something other than fear. 

# 

Shiro remembers so vividly the first time he'd seen Keith break down during a storm, just a few months after they'd adopted him.

They were having dinner as a family when Keith started crying in the middle of it. Their mom asked if something was wrong with the food, but that only made Keith cry more. They had no idea what was wrong until a loud crash of thunder nearly had Keith falling from his chair with how high he'd jumped. It was pretty obvious after that. Their mom thought it best not to crowd him, so she'd asked Shiro, since Keith took to him faster, to bring him to his room to try comforting him. Keith had murmured "I'm sorry," over and over the whole way there and it broke Shiro's heart.

When he finally managed to calm Keith down, it was with soft hums and a hand running through his tangled black hair. That's what always got Keith through the worse storms. After a while, he could get through the less severe ones with only being a little jumpy. It's the bad ones that really put him on edge now. Storms like the one they had last night.

Some part of him feels bad for slipping Lance the information he did, but he knows Keith. Shiro knew it was one of those circumstances where Keith needed a nudge. He knew that if he told Lance, Lance would seek him out and talk to him and sometimes that's all Keith needs; for someone to approach him first to reassure him that others do want to help him. Sometimes that, he just needs to be reminded that he isn't burdening anyone. He doesn't have to hide and fight on his own.

So, Shiro sits at his breakfast table, foot tapping in mild apprehension as he sends his brother a text message.

Shiro: Listen, Keith. I know that you're probably mad at me, but just know that I did it because I care about you and I love you. Are you okay?

Shiro looks over the message before sending it, leaning back against his chair with a sigh as he awaits a response. He's relieved when his phone hums a brief minute or two later, his original fear of Keith ignoring him out of spite tossed out the window. He'd rather have Keith curse him out through text rather than ignore him.

Much to Shiro's confusion though, the text Keith sends isn't a long stream of vulgar curses followed by "I love you too" at the end, but instead, it's a picture. Shiro pinches his brows together as he opens the file. He really should have know better.

It's a picture of Keith sleeping curled into Lance's chest peacefully. Lance is in the image too, but it cuts off just above his perfect, white, snarky grin. It's very clearly being taken by Lance, so Shiro only assumes that Lance is the one who sent it, not Keith.

It would be a sweet and wholesome picture if Shiro couldn't see the very obvious hickeys splattered across Keith's chest and neck. Not to mention the way they are both clearly shirtless in the image, and god knows what else beneath the white fabric of their comforter. His phone hums again with another message, and Shiro's eyes move toward it before he can think to do otherwise.

_Keith: i think he's okay ;)_

For a long moment, Shiro does nothing. He simply takes in a long, deep breath, and exhales slowly, eyes avoiding the image on his phone.

There are some things he does not need to know about his adoptive little brother and some part of him wants to threaten Lance's life in the most creative way possible.

But he doesn't.

He doesn't because he knows that the moment Keith wakes up, he'll be perfectly capable of doing that himself.

Still, even as he shakes his head and prays to unsee what he can't, he thanks Lance, mentally. Because he makes Keith happy, and ultimately, that's all Shiro has ever wanted for his little brother.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some people might remember the ending a little differently bc I changed it after rereading and tweaking a few things. It's in the next chapter now, but I might change that again and make it one chapter idk but the transition bt Keith and Lance's perspective to Shiros bothered me???
> 
> I think my characterization for Lance is a little bit different here, just bc I kind of imagine Lance maturing a lot in the future, but still ultimately being the big, silly dofus that he is. 
> 
> Also I try really hard to keep Keith within his character when he has ~~emotions~~ - don't know how well I executed that since crying is pretty far out of his character already but oH wELL
> 
> ANyway, Thanks for reading my trash! :D  
> Kudos and comments make me the happiest bean alive!!

**Author's Note:**

> Some people might remember the ending a little differently bc I changed it after rereading and tweaking a few things.
> 
> In case anyone is wondering, Keith sees the message and definitely gets his revenge.
> 
> I think my characterization for Lance is a little bit different here, just bc I kind of imagine Lance maturing a lot in the future, but still ultimately being the big, silly dofus that he is. 
> 
> Also I try really hard to keep Keith within his character when he has ~~emotions~~ - don't know how well I executed that since crying is pretty far out of his character already but oH wELL
> 
> ANyway, Thanks for reading my trash! Tell me what you all think and hmu on my writing [tumblr](https://litaluna.tumblr.com) w/ headcannons and suggestions, cute prompts and ideas and literally anything! It all really makes my day :,)  
> Kudos and comments make me the happiest bean alive!!


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